Effects of the Informal Contact on Learners L2 Proficiency: A Review of Five Studies

Résumé

In this paper, the findings of studies investigating the effects of informal contact on adult classroom learners' second language abilities are discussed and a number of factors are proposed which might have contributed to their conflicting results. This will involve a close examination of five of these studies in terms of differences in: I) type of contact 2) type of measurement instruments 3) type of learner 4) differences in quantitative measures of contact S) intensity and duration of instruction 6) interactions between type of instruction and contact.